The guy without the musical chair | Syracusefan.com

The guy without the musical chair

SWC75

SWC75

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If we get Thomas Bryant, someone will wind up without any place to sit in the "musical chairs" game. JB says he's not worried- someone will be gone. He won't say who. Maybe he doesn't know who. Maybe he does.

We're assuming it's a transfer and focus on the guys who have not been playing, or at least shooting well because they are the guys we feel we could most do without and the guys who seem to be Jim's 'whipping boys'. But in recent years we've seen very few players transfer to another school over playing time, hurt feelings or whatever. The leas tone was Dashonte Riley, who followed the coach who recruited him to Eastern Michigan.

The trend in recent years has been to lose guys to the pros, (which is probably why fewer guys transfer- spots open up for them). But who on this roster would the pros be interested in?

At first the answer seems obvious: no one. Chris McCullough is certainly a pro prospect but he'll be coming back from a knee injury. Coleman is coming back from two of them. Surely Cooney isn't an NBA player. Roberson may be a prospect someday but all those tentative, mechanical jump shots would scare any scout away. Joesph? Patterson? Johnson? Obokoh? Don't make me laugh.

But what about Gbinije? He's no lottery pick. He sure need sot work on those free throws. But he's in his fourth year of college ball. He spent a year at Duke, sat out a year here and is not in his second year of playing. I don't know his academic situation but if there are no problems, I( assume he'll graduate this spring. He's our most versatile player, the one guy we have who can score inside and out. He can play defense, rebound and handle the ball. Switching to the back court when he got here probably helped him prepare for a pro career. He's 6-7, so he can play big guard or small forward. I can see him making an NBA roster or playing abroad.

Maybe Mike has decided it's time to play for pay and Jim knows he's decided that and thus isn't worried about a scholarship for Bryant.
 
SWC75 said:
If we get Thomas Bryant, someone will wind up without any place to sit in the "musical chairs" game. JB says he's not worried- someone will be gone. He won't say who. Maybe he doesn't know who. Maybe he does.

We're assuming it's a transfer and focus on the guys who have not been playing, or at least shooting well because they are the guys we feel we could most do without and the guys who seem to be Jim's 'whipping boys'. But in recent years we've seen very few players transfer to another school over playing time, hurt feelings or whatever. The leas tone was Dashonte Riley, who followed the coach who recruited him to Eastern Michigan.

The trend in recent years has been to lose guys to the pros, (which is probably why fewer guys transfer- spots open up for them). But who on this roster would the pros be interested in?

At first the answer seems obvious: no one. Chris McCullough is certainly a pro prospect but he'll be coming back from a knee injury. Coleman is coming back from two of them. Surely Cooney isn't an NBA player. Roberson may be a prospect someday but all those tentative, mechanical jump shots would scare any scout away. Joesph? Patterson? Johnson? Obokoh? Don't make me laugh.

But what about Gbinije? He's no lottery pick. He sure need sot work on those free throws. But he's in his fourth year of college ball. He spent a year at Duke, sat out a year here and is not in his second year of playing. I don't know his academic situation but if there are no problems, I( assume he'll graduate this spring. He's our most versatile player, the one guy we have who can score inside and out. He can play defense, rebound and handle the ball. Switching to the back court when he got here probably helped him prepare for a pro career. He's 6-7, so he can play big guard or small forward. I can see him making an NBA roster or playing abroad.

Maybe Mike has decided it's time to play for pay and Jim knows he's decided that and thus isn't worried about a scholarship for Bryant.
Expand...

No :(
 
SWC75 said:
If we get Thomas Bryant, someone will wind up without any place to sit in the "musical chairs" game. JB says he's not worried- someone will be gone. He won't say who. Maybe he doesn't know who. Maybe he does.

We're assuming it's a transfer and focus on the guys who have not been playing, or at least shooting well because they are the guys we feel we could most do without and the guys who seem to be Jim's 'whipping boys'. But in recent years we've seen very few players transfer to another school over playing time, hurt feelings or whatever. The leas tone was Dashonte Riley, who followed the coach who recruited him to Eastern Michigan.

The trend in recent years has been to lose guys to the pros, (which is probably why fewer guys transfer- spots open up for them). But who on this roster would the pros be interested in?

At first the answer seems obvious: no one. Chris McCullough is certainly a pro prospect but he'll be coming back from a knee injury. Coleman is coming back from two of them. Surely Cooney isn't an NBA player. Roberson may be a prospect someday but all those tentative, mechanical jump shots would scare any scout away. Joesph? Patterson? Johnson? Obokoh? Don't make me laugh.

But what about Gbinije? He's no lottery pick. He sure need sot work on those free throws. But he's in his fourth year of college ball. He spent a year at Duke, sat out a year here and is not in his second year of playing. I don't know his academic situation but if there are no problems, I( assume he'll graduate this spring. He's our most versatile player, the one guy we have who can score inside and out. He can play defense, rebound and handle the ball. Switching to the back court when he got here probably helped him prepare for a pro career. He's 6-7, so he can play big guard or small forward. I can see him making an NBA roster or playing abroad.

Maybe Mike has decided it's time to play for pay and Jim knows he's decided that and thus isn't worried about a scholarship for Bryant.
Expand...

I would still guess McCullough. Has all the tools to play at the NBA level. Sustained an injury that players consistently come back from and still perform. Has the size and athletic ability.

I guess G would be the second choice. Tough to say. He's too small to play traditional SF in the NBA. But maybe a stretch 3. I think the 2 is where he would land.
 
SWC75 said:
If we get Thomas Bryant, someone will wind up without any place to sit in the "musical chairs" game. JB says he's not worried- someone will be gone. He won't say who. Maybe he doesn't know who. Maybe he does.

We're assuming it's a transfer and focus on the guys who have not been playing, or at least shooting well because they are the guys we feel we could most do without and the guys who seem to be Jim's 'whipping boys'. But in recent years we've seen very few players transfer to another school over playing time, hurt feelings or whatever. The leas tone was Dashonte Riley, who followed the coach who recruited him to Eastern Michigan.

The trend in recent years has been to lose guys to the pros, (which is probably why fewer guys transfer- spots open up for them). But who on this roster would the pros be interested in?

At first the answer seems obvious: no one. Chris McCullough is certainly a pro prospect but he'll be coming back from a knee injury. Coleman is coming back from two of them. Surely Cooney isn't an NBA player. Roberson may be a prospect someday but all those tentative, mechanical jump shots would scare any scout away. Joesph? Patterson? Johnson? Obokoh? Don't make me laugh.

But what about Gbinije? He's no lottery pick. He sure need sot work on those free throws. But he's in his fourth year of college ball. He spent a year at Duke, sat out a year here and is not in his second year of playing. I don't know his academic situation but if there are no problems, I( assume he'll graduate this spring. He's our most versatile player, the one guy we have who can score inside and out. He can play defense, rebound and handle the ball. Switching to the back court when he got here probably helped him prepare for a pro career. He's 6-7, so he can play big guard or small forward. I can see him making an NBA roster or playing abroad.

Maybe Mike has decided it's time to play for pay and Jim knows he's decided that and thus isn't worried about a scholarship for Bryant.
Expand...

I'd be willing to bet BJ is gone as soon as the semester ends. He cannot be happy and a change in scenery would do him good.
 
The transfer stuff is simply not that hard to figure out. We are likely returning these guys who have all started a good stretch of games at some point in their career. KJ, Coon, G, Tyler, Chris, DC2 that's 6 plus we have four talented freshman coming in that between them can handle all 5 positions on the court. With or without Bryant competition is going to be intense for those top 8 rotational spots.

Mike leaving is certainly a possibility. He'd make money over seas if he wasn't drafted by an NBA team and sent to D-League.
 
I really think it's going to be a transfer. I'm still not convinced it would be BJ either. Of course I think he could and would, but with all the recruits and the returners from injury, body's are going to be moving around and G will probably see a lot of time in front of the zone essentially eliminating Buss's time. Even with the minutes Buss is getting JB has mentioned numerous times that he's only playing because we have literally nobody else.

I mean it is still possible BJ could take a shirt and be around two more years when we lose McCullough and Roberson will be gone to graduation or early entry. He is still young enough to skip out and work out for a season.
 
If we're talking NBA it may be a tossup between CM and G. I'd still lean toward McCullough because the NBA draft is all about potential, not production. I could see G being a 2nd round pick because of his versatility. In the NBA he can play either the 1 or the 2. He's got a lot of skills for a 6'7" guy. If we're talking transfers I think it would be BJ or Chin. If we get Bryant, Chin would be the 4th or 5th option at C at best assuming CM and DC2 are playing. And the other 4 have ability to play the 4 also. (I could have sworn I said at one time that I hate to speculate on transfers...:bat:.
 
Honestly, I could see both Cooney and Gbinije choosing to play for pay.
 
MikeSU02 said:
I would still guess McCullough. Has all the tools to play at the NBA level. Sustained an injury that players consistently come back from and still perform. Has the size and athletic ability.

I guess G would be the second choice. Tough to say. He's too small to play traditional SF in the NBA. But maybe a stretch 3. I think the 2 is where he would land.
Expand...

I've been surprised about how JB sounds recently when discussing McCullough...to me, his words seem to suggest he thinks Chris will be sticking around, almost certainly. At least, that's impression I get from his comments from the radio show - from SWC's writeup of radio show after V-Tech game:

Tom also asked about Chris McCullough, (as did Jeff in the second segment). “He’ll have surgery in a week or two. He’ll be shooting by the summer, running in September and practicing and playing in October, if everything stays on schedule.” Jeff wondered if he still might go to the pros. “I’m sure he’ll be here. He’s got to get his knee right first.”

Does that sound like JB has any thoughts at all about Chris still leaving for NBA? I don't think so. And he's said something similar in an earlier radio show too. I've been surprised by way he's been talking about it, like it's almost a certainty that Chris is coming back.

EDIT: Here is other commentary from JB, from radio show after North Carolina game:

“Chris’s knee surgery will be tomorrow morning and his rehab will take 6-8 months. He’s be able to shoot in three months and run by the fall. He should be ready by October, with a month to go before the season begins. Microsurgery is very different from an ACL. Every player we’ve had surgery on has come back stronger than before he got hurt."
 
Last edited:
I was trying to think of an example of a freshman coming off knee surgery that the NBA has drafted in the first round, (which I assume would be the round Chris is looking for). It didn't take long:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nerlens_Noel

But would Chris that high, or at least high enough to decide to go?
 
SWC75 said:
If we get Thomas Bryant, someone will wind up without any place to sit in the "musical chairs" game. JB says he's not worried- someone will be gone. He won't say who. Maybe he doesn't know who. Maybe he does.

We're assuming it's a transfer and focus on the guys who have not been playing, or at least shooting well because they are the guys we feel we could most do without and the guys who seem to be Jim's 'whipping boys'. But in recent years we've seen very few players transfer to another school over playing time, hurt feelings or whatever. The leas tone was Dashonte Riley, who followed the coach who recruited him to Eastern Michigan.

The trend in recent years has been to lose guys to the pros, (which is probably why fewer guys transfer- spots open up for them). But who on this roster would the pros be interested in?

At first the answer seems obvious: no one. Chris McCullough is certainly a pro prospect but he'll be coming back from a knee injury. Coleman is coming back from two of them. Surely Cooney isn't an NBA player. Roberson may be a prospect someday but all those tentative, mechanical jump shots would scare any scout away. Joesph? Patterson? Johnson? Obokoh? Don't make me laugh.

But what about Gbinije? He's no lottery pick. He sure need sot work on those free throws. But he's in his fourth year of college ball. He spent a year at Duke, sat out a year here and is not in his second year of playing. I don't know his academic situation but if there are no problems, I( assume he'll graduate this spring. He's our most versatile player, the one guy we have who can score inside and out. He can play defense, rebound and handle the ball. Switching to the back court when he got here probably helped him prepare for a pro career. He's 6-7, so he can play big guard or small forward. I can see him making an NBA roster or playing abroad.

Maybe Mike has decided it's time to play for pay and Jim knows he's decided that and thus isn't worried about a scholarship for Bryant.
Expand...

The last player to leave that didn't go Pro was Mookie.

Let's not forget the year before Wes when we cleaned house with two fringe at best players who decided to go pro: Devo and Harris. Everyone knew that they had no real shot at the NBA.

Having seen our willingness to shed players like Devo and Harris in the past, my guess it would be one of the fringe players who leaves: My bet would be BJ or Chino.
 
cpatrocks said:
The last player to leave that didn't go Pro was Mookie.

Let's not forget the year before Wes when we cleaned house with two fringe at best players who decided to go pro: Devo and Harris. Everyone knew that they had no real shot at the NBA.

Having seen our willingness to shed players like Devo and Harris in the past, my guess it would be one of the fringe players who leaves: My bet would be BJ or Chino.
Expand...

You are correct, but Devo and Harris both had attitude problems that got them into trouble off the court several times. Plus, they had children to feed. BJ and Chino don't seem like knuckleheads and I have a hard time seeing them being asked to leave simply because we're recruiting over them. And as much as I want Thomas Bryant, I'm not sure how well that would sit with me. (Obvious caveat that I don't know everything that goes on behind the scenes with these young men)
 
SWC75 said:
But what about Gbinije? He's no lottery pick. He sure need sot work on those free throws. But he's in his fourth year of college ball. He spent a year at Duke, sat out a year here and is not in his second year of playing. I don't know his academic situation but if there are no problems, I( assume he'll graduate this spring. He's our most versatile player, the one guy we have who can score inside and out. He can play defense, rebound and handle the ball. Switching to the back court when he got here probably helped him prepare for a pro career. He's 6-7, so he can play big guard or small forward. I can see him making an NBA roster or playing abroad.

Maybe Mike has decided it's time to play for pay and Jim knows he's decided that and thus isn't worried about a scholarship for Bryant.
Expand...

Ding, ding ding... we have a winner. There may, in fact, be two schollies available.
 
SWC75 said:
But what about Gbinije? He's no lottery pick. He sure need sot work on those free throws. But he's in his fourth year of college ball. He spent a year at Duke, sat out a year here and is not in his second year of playing. I don't know his academic situation but if there are no problems, I( assume he'll graduate this spring. He's our most versatile player, the one guy we have who can score inside and out. He can play defense, rebound and handle the ball. Switching to the back court when he got here probably helped him prepare for a pro career. He's 6-7, so he can play big guard or small forward. I can see him making an NBA roster or playing abroad.

Maybe Mike has decided it's time to play for pay and Jim knows he's decided that and thus isn't worried about a scholarship for Bryant.
Expand...

Ding, ding ding... we have a winner. There may, in fact, be two schollies available.
 
dasher said:
I think it is pretty obvious it will be between two guys. maybe three. Here is a clue. they don't play much.
Expand...
Maybe 2 or 3 ? Then Bryant anf Murray (if he is 2015 reclass) too much to hope for.
 
Briancuse said:
That would be pretty foolish for either one of them.
Expand...
Why? If a kid wants to try to get paid, the NBA isn't the only option. Cooney won't be playing in the NBA anyhow.
 
Briancuse said:
That would be pretty foolish for either one of them.
Expand...
Honestly it depends on whether they are getting their degree or not. Each are finishing their 4th year so they may be graduating. If they have no interest in grad school its a choice of playing in college or getting paid probably more money than 90% of their classmates will make their first year out of college. I don't think either one of them improves their "draft stock" by coming back. Gbinije is a possible 2nd round pick likely NBDL/Europe player and Cooney can make money overseas. Another year of college won't change that for either of them.

Personally I'd love to see them both go for a graduate degree...just because I'm a Cuse fan.
 
Jasoncuse said:
Why? If a kid wants to try to get paid, the NBA isn't the only option. Cooney won't be playing in the NBA anyhow.
Expand...

No he won't but why give up a year of playing big time college ball for something that is going to be there in a year anyway?
 
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